A pioneer in unraveling the psychosocial aspects of
unmitigated hearing loss, Max Stanley Chartrand has
traveled the road that many are following
today...from deafness to hope to communicative
wholeness...Reader inquiries may be sent to
digicarenet@aol.com or by faxing to 719-676-6882.
All inquiries must include name, address, and phone
number to receive a personalized reply.
THE SEARCH FOR EXCELLENCE
“It was October 1961 in Denver, Colorado when, at
the age of 13, I was fitted with my first hearing
aids,” said Max S. Chartrand, M.A.,
DigiCare Hearing Research & Rehabilitation in
Colorado City, Colorado. He had lost all of his mid
and high frequencies at age 3 from a double case of
mumps, and by age 10 was well underway in a long
decline of the remainder of his hearing as a result
of antibiotic ototoxicity, given for rheumatic
fever.
“Over those many years, I’ve been on a lifelong
search for excellence in hearing correction, a most
daunting task considering the limitations in
technology and in the near untamable artifacts of
the defective human ear.”
By age 14, though gradually going deaf, he was
widely recognized as an accomplished composer and
performer on woodwinds, playing first chair in the
Denver All-City Band, and later in the Colorado
All-State Band and Orchestra. During college he
played with the Denver Symphony Orchestra and other
symphonies, and later earned a Bachelors of Arts in
Music. In 1970 he co-founded the popular jazz-rock
group “Blue Max” (similar to “Chicago”), and for
some time was a regionally popular instrumental
performer in the music field.
But by the mid 70s, his sensorineural (“nerve”)
deafness had progressed to the point that it became
impossible to continue in the music field. “I could
hear the music in my mind perfectly,” he said, “but
I couldn’t hear myself play or the musician sitting
right beside me. It was absolutely devastating to my
life's dream.”
At that time, he changed professions, and began his
education toward a Health Services degree, and years
later, toward a doctorate in Behavioral Medicine.
During the course of that time he evolved into one
of the most prolific authors and educators in the
hearing health field, publishing more than a dozen
books and hundreds of articles and papers worldwide.
His writings are published in several languages and
are utilized by university and professional training
programs worldwide. On the continuing education and
guest lecture circuit he has given more than 5,000
hours of courses in nearly every state and province
throughout North America and in several foreign
counties.
“While working in hearing aid research, development,
and manufacturing throughout the ‘80’s, my
colleagues and I were able to help widen hearing aid
response from a bandwidth of a mere 3,500 Hertz to
more than 10,000 Hertz, which provided much better
fidelity and spatial function in hearing aids. We
also discovered more effective ways to accommodate
abnormal loudness growth and cochlear distortion
problems that had plagued so many hearing aid users
in the past. What we have today is a near miracle
compared to what we had when I entered this field, ”
notes Mr. Chartrand. “Now the hearing impaired can
enjoy a whole array of rehabilitative offerings
unheard of until only recently.”
As the search goes on, for he believes that success
is a “journey not a destination”, he feels the real
challenge today is in awakening the untold millions
of those who’ve yet to come forward to ask for help.
“I can honestly say that when you lose gradual
degrees of your hearing you feel as if you’ve lost
control over the most important aspects of your
life! I tell my patients, ‘I know what you’re going
through, for I've been there. I will go with you on
that journey until you and I and your loved ones
find the excellence that we so much desire and
deserve. Though at times it may seem hopeless, I’ll
not abandon you.”
Today, he is profoundly deaf. He wears a
multichannel cochlear implant, and utilizes
assistive devices to maintain relative communicative
normality. He feels that with today’s technology and
the rights enjoyed under the Americans with
Disabilities Act that every hearing impaired
individual “has a whole new world waiting for them
out there, just waiting for them to come forward and
partake of it.”
In the meantime, the search goes on... |
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